In early 2013, Fu Ping published her autobiography Bend, Not Break, coauthored with Meimei Fox. The book, along with her media interviews, has been found to contain many exaggerations, distortions, and fabrications. Fu Ping has responded by claiming to be a victim of a "smear campaign" of ulterior motives.

This blog documents the facts, questions, and falsehoods behind her book and words.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Questionable Fact: Red Guards as Administrators

The Original Story:
On Page 28 of Bend, Not Break, Fu Ping describes how she got her room assignment in the "ghetto":

Several Red Guards sat at a table calling out names and assigning room numbers. I waited until they called "Fu Ping," and I approached the table.

I was handed papers that I couldn't read -- the characters were too sophisticated for me. A big, official red stamp decorated the top of each page.

The Debunking:
This scene sounds very familiar. I think I saw it in the Schindler's List.

While the Nazis were a well-oiled operational machine who took upon all kinds of governing and administrating tasks in their mission, the Red Guards in 1966 were far from that. At that time, they were too busy destroying things or making pilgrim trips to Beijing to be bothered in the role of housemasters.